Improved railroad-chair



H. W. WARNER.

Railroad Chair. No. 50,309. Y Patented Oct. 3, 1865.

I'mzentaz':

rVggesses; v

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

H. W. WARNER, 0F GREENFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF,

FRANKLIN .I. PRATT, AND EDMUND W. RUSSELL.

IMPROVED RAILROAD-CHAIR.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 50,309, dated October3, 1865. i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, H. W. WARNER, of Greenfield, in the county ofFranklin and State of Massachusetts,have invented a new and ImprovedOhair for Uniting the Ends of the Rails of Railroads; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part ofthis specification, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of myimproved chair with the end of one railin place. Fig. 2 is a plan viewof the same. Fig. '3 is aplan of the end of the rail, showing themannerin which it is beveled to fit the chair.

The nature of my invention consists in such a construction ofchairs forthe ends of railroadrails as shall not only secure firmly the said endsin place, but shall also afiord a firm bridge upon which the wheel shallride in passing over the joint between the ends, thereby rendering therails more durable and obviating the unpleasant jolt usuallyaccompanying the passage of the wheel from one rail to another.

That others may understand the construction and operation of myinvention, I will more particularly describe it.

A is the bed-plate, which may be secured to the cross-ties in the usualmanner, or in any suitable way.

B is the back and bridge piece; 0 0, portions ofthe rail D D, thetic-bolts,which may be made wedge-shaped and provided with a nut, so asto draw the rails snugly up in their seats, ifdesired. The bed-plate Ahas the raised ledges a, between which the lower flanges ot' the railare secured.

The back B has the central projection, I), which serves to brace theback, and also to separate the ends of the rails. From a point aboutopposite the center of the end of the rail the back-piece is slopedlaterally and backward, as shown at d, in a vertical plane, until thesaid plane intersects the lines of the surface of the outside of therail, as shown ate, Fig. 1, from which points the form of the back-pieceis made to conform to the shape of the rail, as at E,F.ig. 1, so thatthe back-pieceB is not only strengthened greatly itself, but it afi'ordsa more solid support to the end of the rail.

Near the ends of each rail is a slot, 8, and corresponding to theseslots are the bolt-holes it. Through these slots and holes the bolts Dare passed, and their nuts screwed up sufficiently tight to secure therail firmly to the chair, while the bolt passing through slots willpermit the expansion or contraction due to changes of temperature, asfrom summer to Winter.

In order to adapt the railsin common use to this chair it is onlynecessary that the ends should be beveled by cutting them in the formshown in Fig. 3, so that the beveled end of the rail shall meet and fitthe beveled surfacedof the chair.

In operation my invention is as follows When the ends of the rails aresecured to the chair by the bolts D, it they. are laid in hot Weather aclosejoint may be made, and if in cold weather a slight space should beleft at the ends, so that the rails may expand without binding. Theslots .9 allow the necessary ex pansion of the rails without tending toloosen the chair from its seat on the cross-tie. As the wheel of the carcomes near the end of the rail its tread is gradually received upon thesurface of the back-piece, owing to the gradual projection forward ofthe inclined surface (I; and before the end of the rail is reached bythe tread of the wheel the entire weight otthe load is received andsustained by the back-piece B and carried entirely over the joints,without in the least beating the ends down and without any jar.

These chairs may be constructed of wrought or cast iron or steel, eitherin one solid piece or by welding or casting the bridge-piece B to thebed-plate A, or in any other feasible, convenient, or useful manner.

Having described myinvention, what Iclaim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. In combination with the beveled end rails, O O, the railroad-chairconstructed with the corresponding beveled or inclined surfaces 01 d,for the purpose of bridging and gradually breaking the joint between therails, for the purpose set forth.

2. In combination with the back-piece B, the projection b, for thepurpose of bracing and strengthening the back-piece.

3. A railroadchair constructed with the back-piece B, inclined surfacesd, brace-piece b, and bed-plate A, substantially as described and forthe purpose set forth.

H. IV. WARNER.

Witnesses:

WENDELL T. DAVIS, AUSTIN DE WOLF.

